Road trips a high point in the Low life
By Chris Nixon
For the San Diego Union-Tribune
March 2, 2006
After a few weeks on the road, indie rock trio Low is heading home to the frosty confines of Duluth, Minn. Guitarist Alan Sparhawk – along with his wife, Mimi Parker (drums), and Zak Sally (bass) – talk about the family road trip that is a Low tour.
“Our eldest is almost 6, and she's been coming with us since she was 6 or 8 months old,” said Sparhawk, who brings his two children on the road with him everywhere the band travels. “We have a nanny. We're real lucky that we can get out and do this without losing our shirts. We're a family and we just try and do everything we can together.”
Despite the hardships, Sparhawk feels touring as a family is important to his band's existence.
“We generally enjoy being on tour,” said the singer-guitarist. “We feel like it's important for us and integral to who we are. We toured a lot when we started out, and it was the best way for us to progress and reach bigger audiences.”
The band is currently touring behind “The Great Destroyer,” one of the better releases to emerge from 2005. On the group's first album for SubPop records (its eighth overall), the threesome paired with Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann. The result finds Low exploring a more aggressive sound compared with the hushed mesmerizing music that gained the band notoriety.
Much like Low's touring mentality, “The Great Destroyer” emerged from Sparhawk and Parker's family first mentality.
“We actually tracked a lot of the album at home,” said Sparhawk. “We have a reel-to-reel eight-track machine we use. From early on, we've always had some form of recording device at home. At the same time, I really like working with people who really know how to use that stuff. It makes a big difference.”
Part of Low's charm comes from the vocal pairing of Parker and Saparhawk, whose harmonies add emotional depth to the band's stripped-down rock sound. The pair's seeds were sown in a small community outside the northern Minnesota outpost of Fargo.
“I've actually known Mim since we were in fourth grade,” said Sparhawk. “We grew up in a smaller community. It was just a small class, so basically you're with the same kids through grade school, junior high and high school. We started dating when we were 16.”
Like any spouse, Sparhawk can't help but spill a story about Mimi's singing resumé before Low.
“Mimi had been singing a lot,” said Sparhawk with a chuckle. “She and her sisters used to sing a lot. Her mother would take out the accordion, dress them in matching outfits and make them entertain friends.”
After high school, the duo moved to Duluth to attend college. Parker stayed in school while Sparhawk began to tour with bands and cut his teeth in the music business: “We'd sit around and sing songs, but we didn't really go for it as far as working together until after we were married.”
Low made noise on the indie circuit with its combination of angelic vocals intertwining with low-fi song structures. Despite the comparably supercharged intensity of “The Great Destroyer,” the band still finds its artistic ground zero in its vocal harmonies.
“I wasn't even singing or writing songs until we started Low, so Mim was always the harmony,” said Sparhawk, who like a good spouse knows when to give credit to his wife. “I would say Mim is really the key when it comes to the vocals. I've always struggled with singing. Over the years, I've learned a little bit more and gotten a little bit better. She's a big factor in how our vocals work together.”
Chris Nixon is a San Diego music writer.
